Chapter 327: October 4 (Edited)

As October progressed, the sun set earlier and earlier, and by the time Hogwarts curfew arrived, it was already dark outside.

The Hogwarts students had long since returned to their dormitories, and the castle had been quiet for a while.

Just then, the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor moved aside and a silver-gray tabby cat stepped out of a hole in the wall of the Gryffindor dormitory, tail raised high and tip slightly curved as it bounded outside with a light, jaunty stride.

"Remember to come back soon!" The fat lady in the portrait shouted as soon as she was back in her seat, "Or may the house elf send you straight back, and don't disturb my sleep again!"

The cat, already far away, wagged its tail and disappeared around the corner without looking back.

Fish had no intention of wandering around the castle today, or going out to play with his animal friends, so he jumped straight up to the third floor, opened the door to the headmaster's office with a meow, and quickly ran up the spiral staircase.

"Albus, Fish is here!"

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

The kitten flung open the oak door of the headmaster's office and rushed toward Dumbledore.

"Fish..."

Dumbledore covered his chest and argued earnestly with the cat, who suddenly burst in, "When you come in, can you be any quieter? Grandpa Albus is too old to be scared."

"But...," the kitten cocked his head in confusion, "Didn't you yourself say last time, Albus, that Fish wasn't supposed to sneak in?"

The last time Fish had mentioned, he had sneaked into the Headmaster's office in his cat form, slipped through a crack in the door and leapt onto Dumbledore's desk, pouncing on the unsuspecting Sorting Hat....

It also startled Dumbledore, who was concentrating on his papers.

Dumbledore smiled wryly and said, "Can't you knock normally? like when you go looking for Minerva?"

"Sometimes, though, when Fish went to fetch Minerva, he would secretly frighten her, but Minerva said nothing."

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish frowned and looked at Dumbledore in disgust.

He wasn't lying, Professor McGonagall simply didn't like the way he was knocking on the door, she had no problem with him sneaking in...

Especially since she had grown accustomed to the little cat's cunning during the time she had first adopted Fish.

"Ahem, that's because Grandpa Albus is older than Minerva, and I was born..."

"I know, I know, Albus, you're a pain in the neck."

As Dumbledore tried to take the opportunity to tell Fish about his birthday, he was interrupted by the impatient kitten.

With a wave of his hand, he placed the cowering Fawkes and Uroboros on top of his body and headed for the door, reminding him as he went, "Fish is off to find Minerva first, so I'll leave the rest to you, Albus!"

"..."

Dumbledore was somewhat depressed as he watched the kitten bounce away.

"Hehehehehehe..."

At that moment, Phineas' sinister laughter rang out from the wall of the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore stood up silently and walked over to his portrait.

"Wait! Are you thinking again..."

Phineas shouted in shock and anger, but it was a pity that Dumbledore didn't wait for him to finish speaking and turned his portrait again.

...

"Minerva, Fish is here nya~"

?●ω●?

After exiting the Headmaster's office, the kitten made its way to Professor McGonagall's office without a knock, pushing open the half-buried door and running into it with a clatter, jumping into her arms and rubbing against it vigorously.

Professor McGonagall stroked the cat's head and asked, "What brings you here so early today?"

"Fish is going to play with Fluffy in the Forbidden Forest later today."

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

The excuse he had thought of came out of his mouth,

Fish urged, "Come on, Minerva, tell the story, Fish is busy today!"

"Just hanging out? What's so busy."

Professor McGonagall gave the little cat a nasty tug of his ear, but promptly stopped what she was doing and began telling the story.

At first, Fish was a bit distracted, but as he listened, the little cat became more and more fascinated.

After almost a year of training, Professor McGonagall's storytelling skills were now as good as Lockhart's, and the cat was mesmerized by the ups and downs of a story that wasn't overly impressive.

After listening to Professor McGonagall's story, Fish jumped off her lap and returned to his cat-man form.

After placing the phoenix and basilisk on him, Fish ran out of the room with a look of impatience.

"Fish is off to play with Fluffy nya, goodnight Minerva!"

?(?)?

"Remember to go back to bed early!"

Professor McGonagall reminded loudly from behind his.

"Got it nya..."

When Fish responded, his voice had become very distant.

Professor McGonagall shook her head helplessly, then lowered her head and continued with her unfinished work.

And instead of heading for the Forbidden Forest outside the castle, as he had said he would, Fish hurried out of her office and ran upstairs.

Running up to the seventh floor in a jiffy, Fish spoke to the Fat Lady, who, as he walked away, asked curiously, "Why are you back so early today?"

"Well, Fish is back for something important nya!"

Fish replied and quickly climbed into the hole in the wall, but just as he had gotten halfway through, he suddenly stepped back.

"Wait till Minerva comes, don't tell her Fish is back, nya."

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

The kitten emphasized to the fat lady with a serious look.

"Professor McGonagall? how did you know I'd be here later?" The fat lady was confused, but nodded and said, "As long as I don't ask, I can keep your secret."

The implication was that if Professor McGonagall asked, she would have to tell.

But Fish didn't care, Dumbledore would be there to cover for him anyway.

He catapulted himself back into the hole in the wall and quickly made his way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Is everyone ready nya?"

Fish asked impatiently as soon as he jumped out of the hole in the wall.

The Gryffindor students had waited early, filling the common room to the brim.

"Of course, don't worry about us! It's a birthday celebration for Professor McGonagall!" Fred jumped up beating his chest, "We had it all set up an hour ago!".

The Gryffindor common room had been transformed, with red and gold Gryffindor ribbons hanging everywhere and colorful balloons floating from the ceiling.

The small round tables that had been scattered around the common room had been moved to the dormitories and replaced by three long tables borrowed from the kitchens, which had been gathered in the center of the common room, covered with a huge burgundy tablecloth and surrounded by a circle of chairs.

On top of the table was a huge three-tiered birthday cake with a pair of silver tiger spots made of cream, a small cat and a large cat leaning next to each other, exactly like Professor McGonagall and Fish when they became cats.

"This cake looks so delicious nya..."

(●Φ﹃Φ●)